Forgotten Gen X Now Quietly Fuels Trillions In Consumer Spending

Gen X spending power could reshape marketing strategies

Gen X drives trillions in global spending and that could prompt marketers to rethink generational focus.

Gen Xers have often been the discounted or forgotten generation, but a new joint report might change some marketers' minds about who they target.

Now in their peak expenditure years, Gen Xers have been leading global consumer spending since 2021, according to the report titled "The X Factor: How Generation X is quietly driving trillions in consumer spending."

"Our findings show that Gen X is the most influential consumer cohort of the next decade," Wolfgang Fengler, co-founder and CEO of World Data Lab told USA TODAY. NielsenIQ (NIQ) and World Data Lab (WDL) worked to put together a global analysis of Gen X consumer behavior and spending trends based on proprietary data from both companies, including WDL's consumer spending forecasts.

In 2025, Gen X is expected to drive $15.2 trillion in global spending, including $5 trillion in the United States alone, according to the report. And their spending power is projected to peak at $23 trillion globally and $7 trillion in the United States in 2035.

"To put this spending power in perspective, if you treated them as their own 'country,' Gen Xers would form the world's second-largest consumer market — second only to the United States and roughly twice the size of China's total spending," said Fengler.

Members of Generation X wield influence when it comes to spending and decision making, said Marta Cyhan-Bowles, chief communications officer and head of Global Marketing Centers of Excellence at NIQ.

"GenXers are the 'CFO' of three households – theirs, their kids’ and elders,' " Cyhan-Bowles told USA TODAY.

As "the sandwich generation," many Gen Xers are financially supporting children while also caring for aging parents − meaning that much of their wealth is being spent on others, said Cyhan-Bowles.

"They know what they want and they are getting it. They look for value and convenience to help them juggle enormous responsibilities and financial priorities, and as a result, they tend to be brand-trusting and loyal," she added. "They’re willing to pay a premium for products that assist their stretched realities."

In the next five years − 2025 through 2030 − Gen X is expected to spend globally: $507 billion on food and non-alcoholic beverages, $80 billion on beauty products and $42 billion on alcohol, according to the report.

Because of this buying power, ignoring Gen Xers is a mistake, said Fengler.

Brands and retailers who fail to prioritize Gen X consumers now are "not just missing out on a moment or one generation, they’re potentially risking the next decade of loyalty and a lifetime of generational influence," he said.

Gen X, born from 1965 to 1980, is frequently overlooked because of its size, said Fengler. Though there are 1.4 billion members of Gen X alive today globally, as a group, they are smaller than millennials, born from 1981 to 1996 (1.8 billion) and Gen Z, born from 1997 to 2012 (2 billion), according to World Data Lab. And while the Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, were a large generation, there are currently 1.0 billion Boomers alive, according to the report.

Gina Hemmings, 56, is a Denver-based Gen Xer who has spent her career in marketing.

The professional message that has always been drilled into her head is that consumers ages 20 to 40 are the ones to target. Not those ages 45 to 60, like Hemmings and other members of Generation X, even though people in that age range often are at their highest earning potential.

The thinking is that people in their 20s to 40s are a "sweet spot" because a company can build that brand loyalty and hopefully keep those consumers for a lifetime, Hemmings said.

Hemmings used herself as an example. She still uses the same bank she chose when she was in her 20s.

Additionally, marketers are taught that young consumers "often have the highest disposable income because ... they're at a point in their life where maybe they don't have the other responsibilities that a Gen Xer would have and so they have more discretionary spending power," said Hemmings.

But Gen X deserves more attention, she said.

"We're an overlooked generation and I don't know the answer of why marketers and retailers are not targeting us," said Hemmings, who has noticed a drop in direct marketing to her email inbox and mailbox as she's gotten older.

The results of the study should be a wake-up call for businesses and welcome news for Gen Xers, said Ross Steinman, a professor of consumer psychology at Widener University outside of Philadelphia, who specializes in consumer behavior.

The findings should be "exciting to Gen Xers ... that they are being heard and recognized and embraced right now," said Steinman, who is also a member of the Gen X generation.

"I don't know if we've been entirely forgotten or neglected or overlooked," Steinman said, noting the popular nostalgia market that reboots and sells toys and products from the '80s as well as the popularity of nostalgic toy sellers on Ebay. "But I think they haven't paid as much attention but now they're looking at us and saying 'wow you guys are 45 to 60, we better make a move and capitalize on this while we can,' " Steinman said.

In North America, Gen X will be the biggest group of consumers spending money through 2033. Wealthier Gen Xers are concentrated in U.S. city centers, the report said.

Here are some other findings from the report and Fengler and Cyhan-Bowles:

• In Seattle and Boston, for example, 70% to 79% percent of Gen X'rs are considered "rich," which is defined as anyone who spends at least $120 a day.
• Gen Xers are brand loyal to small brands. They are 51% more likely than millennials to prefer small brands and 37% more likely than Boomers to buy small brands than to purchase from large manufacturers or retail brands
• The second highest category of spending for Gen X consumers is “Musical Instruments & Indoor Recreation Durables,” (10.1%) which are items such as musical instruments and ping pong tables. "This is a generation that plays hard," said Fengler. The top spending category is elder and dependent care (10.4%).
• Gen X is willing to use tech and AI to help make life easier. For instance, 27% allow “smart” devices (e.g., fridge sensors) to automatically order new products when required.
• Beauty is important to Gen Xers, said Cyhan-Bowles. Globally Gen X is anticipated to spend $430 billion on beauty in 2034. In the United States, Gen X is one of the top representative groups within beauty care dollar sales (28.3%), second to millennials (36.0%).
• 53% of Gen X Tik Tok views are on makeup, "proving that these consumers are not to be ignored or discounted by brands when it comes to digital advertising," she said.
• Gen X U.S. households also spend more on consumer packaged goods relative to millennials. They spend 21% more on pet care, 15% more on floral and 12% more on household care.

Hemmings said as she has gotten older, she and her husband don't buy as much, but when they do buy something, they get the best thing they can afford. That often means spending more money on the item to make sure it will last a long time, she said.

"I do the research and I buy things that are important to me," she said.

The couple doesn't go out to eat as often and prefer to cook at home and they're not traveling as much as they used to. But they still occasionally splurge, she said. They took a trip to Kauai after they had an unexpected windfall.

She and her husband, Simon will also splurge on specialized food for their 13½-year-old mini Australian Shepherd named Huxley.

Hemmings has this message for businesses: "Don't discount Gen X. For the right brands and the right products, you really should be targeting these consumers because they do their research and they care about what they're buying. It's important to them, so yeah, don't leave us out."

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.